Sunday 3 November 2013

Bucharest, the capital of smoking

Bucharest, the capital in Europe where you can cosily smoke in winter or summer INSIDE the restaurant after you had dinner.
You do not have to hide in your not free smoking hotel room.
Have your coffee with the cigarette in any café or bar you wish!
Not on the terasse...inside. In our clubs, it smells of cigarette and not of tiger sweat.
Pavement smokers exist but they are normally just outside some corporate office buildings.
Let s face it, sometimes, the western civilized societies have gone crazily wrong. This is Europe.
God, it feels good.
(If you are not a smoker, you can go to places where smoking is not allowed).

28 comments:

  1. Indeed! Let`s stop being hypocritical.
    R.

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  2. Ce cool...Fashionable and intellectual. And useful.

    The truth is this could be a hype/good image for Ro. It is what it is for Amsterdam.(a lot of tourists)

    Now I know why I miss my country.

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  3. ba smoke and sweat! :D

    maria, chiar iti e dor de hainele care put a fum dupa a night out? :)

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  4. am fost recent intr-un club dintr-un oras european (nu mai dam nume :) in care nu se fuma. nu, nu era un club de nefumatori, doar ca pt fumatori era amenajata o camera speciala undeva la etaj.
    am iesit de acolo at 5 in the morning, mega-fresh, fara ochi injectati, fara par imbacsit, fara sa ma usture gatul.
    si belive me, nu suferea nimeni ca tre sa urce 3-4 trepte ca sa traga un fum...

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  5. He, he, ce v ati pornit!

    Of course we exagerate a little, yet somehow I d rather have the right to chose as in Ro than have it imposed by the law.

    All right Rayuela, arrange a fumoire, nice, i will give you that.

    But let s not agree with the state intefering with our personal life...and end up like in the USA, where they were discussing the right of pavement smoking, the urine employment test, etc.

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  6. @ 1 morning: Sweat to smoke :)

    Smoking, an antisocial habit, a private leisure home activity? ;)

    Maria, R, One morning, Rayuela, are we all smoking?

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  7. 1 Morning,

    Well, I am an all rooms smoker, including bedroom, do not like restrictions. Don't mind the smell, you open the window..How about you? You don't let people smoke in your house?
    (Of course, books smell of smoke)

    Revelion la sorbona
    True. Funny how a social habit at the begining turned into an antisocial one. Pariah in the working class view in the States.

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  8. Hello to all smoker friendly ppl in the house,

    Maria, no one dared to question your right to "tigara de dupa" :)) You can smoke even while having a bubble bath! I'm not a smoker but I do occasionally enjoy the toxicity of a slim when I'm out with the girls, wear red nail polish or just feel like a cigarette.. but never smoked more than 2-3 cigarettes in a row and Yes I do let people smoke in my house if we're one on one I'll also open the window and join..but usually go out on the terrace.

    I grew up with cigarettes but not because my parents were smokng but because there were always some packages left by the guests and they were kept in the house so they could find them later.

    But when tens of ppl smoke in the same room..well..I get stomach sick and I need to go out and have fresh air..my eyes become red and teary :) if that doesn t happen then because I have it long and curly, my hair will stink horribly and so my clothes and underwear.. and I find the strong bitter smell of cigarettes in my clothes utterly disgusting :)

    In general I resent government interference in my private life but I believe this regulation protects my health ..so I was sooo thrilled when it was introduced in nl! after 5 hours of dancing in a club here you don't stink and you feel somewhat fresher indeed.

    Smoking as a social habit..yes it was made into one by the industry :) I once chose to study the image of smoking throughout the ages and i wrote a 40 pages long paper on that..I know all abt the ads picturing it as a cool and relaxing habit, I've seen many pics of women/actresses who were asserting their emancipation by doing manly things - yes smoking was then a brave gesture with a really admirable agenda. But ppl let's not forget that the image of smoking as a sign of freedom, emancipation and relaxation was manufactured in order to increase sales of a product that it is indeed very harmful for us. It is funny to me to see how people argue that a smoking ban=ban on relaxation ? If someone has internalized the image of smoking as a relaxing habit..then good for you, the campaigns have worked in your case but you should not forget that other people do not want to breathe the smoke which is - we all know- very toxic.

    Also, one should not forget that the industry was forced to acknowledge the fact that smoking can cause lung cancer etc and gradually public opinion became aware of the negative effects of smoking..this is what made it an asocial habit ..and the regulation is enforcing my right not to breathe your smoke when I don't feel like it.

    I rest my case :P
    the ball is now in your court, convince me I should review my opinions :)
    (nice "arguing" with you btw)

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  9. forgot to say, rayuela, watch my back, I'm going innn!!!! :D

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  10. Hola..
    Spain went through the same as Romania, but i like it there that people are not agressive to smokers. I believe in smoking without disturbing.

    But I miss smoking in clubs as i miss my childhood..

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  11. Wow, that s a long stance 1 morning. Thank you.
    Right, i suppose, you need to become a day to day smoker to write The thesis on smoking:)

    We cannot have everything.
    One cannot feel free smoking, be healthy if one is into that and not have her hair smoked, etc.

    We like to smoke inside, and the non should stay or go to the non smoking area. Bucharest is still like that.

    We chose to smoke or not, yet do not want the state to forbid us or to tell us how to die. Just that. Otherwise, once started they will end up forbidding cigarettes like they did with joints and opium, etc. and there will be a black market, and another country like Netherlands and they will allow it, etc.

    I know people who quit because partner did not smoke, to diminuish wrinkles, to save money, others who started to lose weight, etc. It s a matter of personal choice and taste. I was just saying let s leave it to that.

    @ anonim : tambien, a good one I read about quiting smoking was from Garcia Marquez who said I lost a friend..

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  12. I didn't realize it was that long :) thanks for reading ;)

    pai :) I see things quite differently: if you want to smoke inside you should go to the smoking area or go to a private party. Just because my non smoking doesn't cause lung cancer (ma rog, exagerez un pic, for the sake of the argument) to you, but your smoking just might do that to other people.

    well the thought of banning cigarettes altogether is a tad.. apocalyptic :D no one says don't smoke, just don't smoke inside :)

    And Bucharest has always been/still is a bit behind.. see bike paths, bio food, vintage fashion etc. As a smoker you might see that as a cool side of Bucharest but if you are a non smoker you can't but regret that Buc is lagging behind

    p.s. azi am avut ora de engleza? maine vom avea iar ro, en sau altele :P

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  13. i'm here 1morning, don't worry but i can't see you very well... i think it's the smoke :P

    well i don't smoke, but than again, i'm not against smoking, or against ppl that smoke.
    i mean let's face it, a guy with a cigarette, somewhere in a bar, may be very cool & sexy...

    but, on the other hand as a non-smoker, i dont't like to have to "smoke" everywhere i go! i dont't like to smell like hell every time i go out in a cafe for a drink, even at 10 in the morning!

    i won't continue because my friend 1morning has already presented the case well & enough :)

    ps: sorbonne, je propose que le suivant post & debat soit en francais :)

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  14. O dimineata:) Come on man, it would be original to have Bucharest as the capital of smoking, admit that?
    This is what the post is about.

    The rest is about balance inside and not pavement/loo:)smoking.

    I bet on original rather than copy and trends, don t you? : aren t you fed up with hypsters: bio food, you know the debate on bio now, what is really bio?, health, jogging like crazy 3 times a day to kid yourself about ageing, yoga, etc.

    I give you the bike paths and second hand as a need/fight for cheaper and anti consumerism.

    (Vintage in romania must be reconsidered. Many middle aged Romanians are modern without knowing it. Some people wear their sixties leather jackets or eighties jumpers because this is what they ve got)

    I would have loved for Lipscani area to be conserved as it was, our Havana vieja, instead of seeing a poor copy of old centre, Montmartre concept for tourists..

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  15. Wait for mee...

    RS, I love the idea! Who tells Elena Udrea?

    One morning, you do have a point with cancer, but the idea is original. And RS:)was aiming at that, i guess. Balance and not dictatorship.

    And you two are so nice for non smokers!with your guests at home. Friends, one can tell.

    In a way, Bucharest is already the smoking place. I have so many friends, foreigners or not who quit or not and when in Ro, they feel like university, feel free, as bad as it sounds, and smoke a cigarette, or smoke more...

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  16. macar daca as putea sa ma invelesc intr-un filtru ...

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  17. Rayuela: J etais presque sur que tu fumais...
    English is the new latin.

    Maria: E U? Hahaha..But then again..she would have been cool.

    Fan Fan: Metafora ne va salva:) Ce frumos ai zis tu.

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  18. @sorbona: sorry 2 disappoint u :)
    l'anglais oui, oui, mais le fr est plus vintage :P

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  19. well now :p I already knew your stance on smoking..but it would be boring if everybody would agree all the time, right?

    and funny you should criticize people's apetite for trends while at the same time being so enthusiastic about one :) Now obviously you associate smoking/cigarettes with freedom and relaxation and that's ok with everybody including me (also some people's salaries depen on that) but you really can't deny that those who associate them only with exposure to bad smell and health hazzards are right in their own way..with the risk of being considered uncool by other ppl obviously.. now that's a matter of priorities

    I love places and ppl/ppls who are unaffected (for the moment) by trends, that s why I made my best to travel to some remote villages in Turkey and China for example :) but when I said Bucharest was a bit behind I meant that you can't yet make the Bucarestois (how do you say that in engl? that's a good one..) care for much..you can't even make them care enough as not to throw their garbage on the green spaces between their blocks of flats..therefore you won't manage to make them care for the air non smokers breathe while inside either.. not too soon anyway.. now these things can be original but it can also be frustrating if you think otherwise

    but if we make haz de necaz :P you win it is original..but I personally prefer uncool places like A'dam and Paris :p

    there's also sth not quite right in my opinion abt the fact that poor ppl have not been able to replace their groom jacket..but I find that a bit sad and alienating..true they're wearing vintage..but it wasn't abt them but abt making those who can afford brands or think that looking your sexual best is the only option to discover that you can play, downplay your sexappeal and time travel, right?:) and I m not sure that has happened ..and it is indeed a trend but as long as it's not brought to extremes I kinda enjoy following it

    we're also in trend with the bio food, doesn't everybody appreciate since forever the "bio de la tara? ;p I don't also mind this trend ..refusing to eat synthetic foods that taste bad is sth I'll praise ppl for doing :)

    As I ve said before I enjoy a lot exchanging opinions here (it's so relaxing in breaks) and I hope nobody here believes that we need to worry for each other's feelings :p

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  20. Rayuela: Mais oui, cest vrai, le French is the ancient greek in a way...hahaha.
    Let s save it for some cuisine, more fashion and amour.

    One morning: How observant you are. I suggest as a truce: original ideas, i will give you some obsessions, (vintage forever) but let s not follow trends... healthy or not, let s not allow society to think for ourselves.

    It is obvious we enjoy talking here and I like reading you. We do worry for the other s feelings but not in that way:) Here, it s the ideas that we care about most. And, for ideas sake, we blog.

    What happened in the end with the mouse that had visited you?:)

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  21. "Come on man, it would be original to have Bucharest as the CAPITAL OF SMOKING, admit that?"

    thats a fuckin... great idea dude. we should make somethin out of it.

    ps: ti'am zis ca ai unu din cele mai bune bloguri ro? iti zic acum :)

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  22. Strelnikov! Same craving here... Thank you.
    Just that i have to say it here as you ve got the best comment free zone:), which is so cool..
    ps: I had not yet read last houellebecq, but man, you made me longing for it with your quotings!

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  23. hmmm.. so GAME OVER? ;) :(

    the mouse's dead, baby.. mouse's dead..

    now since we're talking abt Bucharest&clubs&pubs .. is there one/some you'd recommend? I haven't been to Buc in a while and I'm afraid I haven't caught up with the new names

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  24. Hahaha. Well, okay, i will give an amsterdam/bucharest one:) Why marijuana is better than reality and cigarettes?:)

    Glad to hear about the mouse. What a laugh your post was, though I was worried for you.

    I ll look for your email and send a little list.

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  25. anyway monsieur - ai cumva vreun mail [nu vad nimic afisat p'aici]? :)

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  26. John, human beings say they want freedom yet they don t like it

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